The awards, which are endorsed by The Institute of Customer Service, were presented by Barnardos patron Julie Peasgood during a luncheon on Friday 6 July at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Heathrow Hotel.
Restaurant Associates was recognised with the General Customer Service Training Programme of the Year 2012 for its customer experience programme, impressions.
Clare Muscutt, customer experience strategy leader for Restaurant Associates, developed the programme and collected the award on its behalf. Commenting on the accolade, she said: “Impressions is about making a first and lasting impression and is driven by front-line training, engagement and creating a culture where our people put the customer at the heart of everything we do. Our people are what sets us apart and it’s great to be recognised for the work we’re doing to drive service excellence where it matters most.”
Andy Harris, managing director of Restaurant Associates added: “This is a fantastic accolade for us all at Restaurant Associates, recognising our customer experience programme as best in class. Giving great customer service to all of our Restaurant Associates customers is key to everything we do; in fact it is the most important thing we do, all day, every day!”
Restaurant Associates has also been announced as a finalist in three categories of the UK Customer Experience Awards 2012; shortlisted for the B2B Customer Experience of the Year and Retail Customer Experience Training Programme of the Year.
The winners will be announced during an event at the Grand Connaught Rooms, London, on 21 September 2012.